Endless carrier for conveyers.



B. N. DAVIS.

ENDLESS CARRlER FOR CONVEYERS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10. 1914.

1,155,340. Patented Oct. 5,1915.

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act may strike while BEMISS N.- LDAVIS, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

ENDLESS CARRIER FOE GONVEYERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 10, 1914. Serial No. 871,235.

1 0 all 107mm it may cor/(3am I Be itlznown that l, BHM'ISS DAVIS, 21,citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New Orleans, intho parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have in- Ventcd certainnew and uscjh'llImprovements in Endless Carriers for Conveyors, oi.which the following act description.

This invention relates to endless carriers for conveyors adapted to beused in loading and uul aiding ships, ms and tho like, and 11515 for itsprimary object the provision of a carrier by which bunches of bananasand like objects which are oasilv bruised and injured ma beexpeditiouslyhandled without any liability of damage hill; in transit,which damage results, in most instances, from the objects carried by theapron strik vs; or rubbing against hard rigid members iich extendtrnnsrcrscl across the apron and upon which the apron rests. In onecommon construction of u carrier, those rigid members are the cross barswhich maintain the cndloss chains or drivingnicuihers in spaced.parallel relation to each othor; in another form, they consist of therollers upon which tho apron travels, while in other constructions thoymay be of a still different character.

My invention aims to eliminate any and :ill of such incinhcrs againstwhich the obon tho apron, and consists accordingly of a carrier in whichthe flexible apron is sup 'iortcd endless chains or n'icinbors to whichit secured alongits side edges, the apron being of sullioient width tosag transversely undcr loud to i'j'orin or substantially longitudinaltrough in the apron, the sides of which will prevent the obiccts lroinleaving the apron while the carrier is in motion, tho oarullcl chainsbeing" hold in spaced relation to each other by inomhors wli' h urcsoposed that there is no liability of objects carried by the carrierstriking or rubbing against the of the coninvention is :1 full, clear,and cx -plono or is slightly "icct inwardly from each solely by spacedshich will beible apron; and Fig. l is UL dctuilof a inodinodconstruction by wh ch the parallel cn lless incnihors inuy ho:nnintaiucd iii-spaced relation to each other.

In the accoinpouyingdrnwirigs only a portion of the carrior is shown,which coniprises broadly parnllol chains 52 11nd forming the supportingmembers for a hexiblo apron upon which the orticlos to be transportedarc odu 'itod to rcstf .lt to be understood, howovcr. that the completecarrier constitutos on omllcss belt which is supported by an suitziliilcstructure carrying driving sprocket wheels or lilac ports, over whichtho endless chains trnvol. 'fhis supporting structure; is so :u'rnngodthat the surtuco of the apron which supports the articles to be carricd.lies in a ho'rizoutul inolinod thorctroni, so that the objcrts curricdby the apron will not slip or slide down tho same under the influence ofgravity. l hich of thoso parallel chains consists of a plurality oflistlinks which are secured together by rirots upon which arc ploccd thousual typcot rolh-irs 24. adapted to oug'ugo the tooth oi' the sprocketwhocls (not shown). in one coi'istrnction oi the cnrrior, instead of theusual llot linl' special links arc provided :it clo SllzlCGtl intcrvulsin tho'inucr sides of each of the chains. ilhosc linl'cs cmuprisc flathorizontally disposed portions 26 which proo'? the chains toward ouchother, from which portions thcro depends a piece 27 having" its ironoiul'ulso bout to form a seat for one cud of 2! cross bar 28 of Wood orother i'i'izitcriul which bolted tiicrcto, which cross hairsllliillllhlllln the chains in spaced parallel relation to ouch other..Tho apron oi ounrns or like flexible u'mtorinl and preferably has itsside edges folded over to form :1 TQM' 'OTCGLl in which are provhlod purality of cycs Tho apron is attached to the chains 2' by open linksaporturo in tho ploto '26, one of their hooked onds passing through theovclct in tho apron, while the other hooked portions chimp zigzziinsttho apron to prevent their inadvertent displacoimuit of the links.

The apron. is sullicicut width so that when the bunches of bananas orother objects are placed thereon their wcight will cause it to sup;trui'isvon ly in form :1 Suitstantizillr ooutinuoiu; tiiou z'h' runninglontho side Walls of which links have 29 whicn puss through an whichwill prevent the articles from rollplane of the apron, it is clear thatthere are no hard or rigid members against which the articles can strikewhile on the apron, whereby there is little, if any, danger of thearticles being injured while in transit. The formation of the continuoustrough has also the advantage that the articles may be placed lengthwisethereon very close together and for this reason the speed and rapiditywith which the articles may be transported is greatly facilitated.

In order to protect the articles to be car ried from coming in contactwith the links 29 which secure the apron to the chains '20 and 21 or incontact with thechain itself, the construction shown in Fig. 3 may beused, which comprises a protecting pad 30 extending longitudinally ofthe apron at each side thereof, which is placed over the links 29 and aportion of the chains 21. The pads also serve to accentuate thecurvature of the trough and will thereby insure that there will belittle. if any. liability of the articles rolling off the apron. Thisconstruction is particularly adaptable for carriers where. owing to thelack of space. the width of the apron is restricted.

Referring to Fig. 5. a modified construc tion is shown. which may beused in lieu of the cross-bars 29. for mainlaining the parallel chainsin spaced relation to each other and consists of channel bars 31 and 32arranged above and below the links ofthe chain and betweenwhich thechains are confined. The links 29 which hold the apron may, in thisconstruction. be secured by means of eyes 33 to the links 23. Theparallel chains may also be maintained in spacedparallel relation byother constructions, which will be obvious to one skilled in the art.

I have shown the endless carrier assoas it is not my intention to solimit the inventio n, and I deem the construction of an endless carrierhaving a flexible apron, which is supported-only along its side edgesand its intermediate portions entirely frge I of any supportingstructure so that it may sag transversely when subjected to the weightof the articles to be car led and thereby form a trough whichextends-longitudinally of the carrier, to be novel with me, and it istherefore my intention to be limited only by the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

.What I claim is:

1. A carrier of the class described, comprising a pair of endless spacedparallel driving members, an endless flexible apron 6 secured along itsedges to said members, the intermediate portion of said apron beingunsupported throughout its entire length and sagging transversely whensubjected to the weight of the objects carried thereb to form alongitudinal trough in which said objects rest,. and means secured toand.

connecting said members for supporting them 1n spaced relation to eachother, said means being disposed out of engagement with said apronthroughout the entire length of the same.

2. A carrier of the class described, comprising a pair of spaced endlessmembers,

a flexible apron secured along its side edges to said members. theintermediate portion 'ofsaid apron being unsupported for its entirelength and sagging transversely when subiected to the weight of theolnectscarricd thereby to form a longitudinal trough,

and means for maintaining said members in spaced relation to each othercomprising cross-bars secured at their ends to said members and offsetfrom the plane thereof to permit the apron to sag without coming in 9contact therewith.

3. A carrier of the class described. comprising a pair of spaced endlessdriving members. a liexible apron secured along its side edges to saidmembers. and crossbars 95,

secured to said members for maintaining them in spaced relation. saidcross-bars being oil's-ct from the plane of said members and disposedout of contact with said apron.

l. A. carrier of the class described, comprising a pair of spacedparallel endless driving members. a flexible apron secured to saidmembers along its side edges, means for supporting said members inspaced relation to each other. disposed out of engagement with saidapron. and pads secured to one face of the apron adiacent its side edgesand projecting over said members.

A carrier of the class described. comprising a pair of spaced parallelendless chains. a flexible apron secured to said chains along its sideedges. means for suppc ting said chains in spaced relation to each otherdisposed out of engagement with said apron. ot' the apron adjacent itsside edges and projecting over said members for protectin the objectsadapted to be carried in said apron from contact with said chains.

In witness whereof. I subscribe my, sig 120 nature, in the presence oftwo witnesses.

, BEMISS N. DAVIS. Witnesses:

J. A. BARRE F. EISLERJ' and pads secured to the face

